Superman vs Lex Luthor: The Final Battle
by Assunta
Summary: This is a sequel to Superman Returns. Earth's most brilliant madman & the Last Son of Krypton...The universe is only big enough for one of them. Someone has to go. The final battle begins. . . Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Lex Luthor stood facing Superman. They were in an old, abandoned subway tunnel. It was a three-track tunnel, possibly a track switching station at some point. Superman was standing in track number 1, he was in track number 3. He held two very powerful, advanced mechanized guns in his hands. In his left hand was a gun loaded with Kryptonite bullets. In his right hand was one loaded with hollow points. Each gun could fire 100 rounds in 30 seconds. The gun in his right hand was aimed at Ms. Lois Lane...who was 50 meters away tied to a post. He locked eyes with Superman. He had been dreaming of this moment for 3 years. It's been 3 years since Superman destroyed his dream. . .his dream of owning vast amounts of beach side real estate. . .an entire continent! Gone! All because of Superman. He had been on the run for 3 long years. From Superman. From the police. From the freaking Department of Homeland Security! He had been branded a terrorist a few days after Superman threw away his entire continent--his dream!--into outer space. 'Me! Lex Luthor! The world's most brilliant criminal mind! A "terrorist"!' He loathed the term. He was no small time rebel who blew up buildings or trains. He was LEX LUTHOR! He had more brains than all of Earth's scientists put together. He was as unlike a terrorist as a man was to an ant. He was orders of magnitude above, he was a class unto himself. While the so-called terrorists might kill hundreds, or thousands, he LEX LUTHOR had the power to kill millions! BILLIONS! IF NOT FOR SUPERMAN!

He stared at Superman with such hatred. But he did not aim the gun in his left hand at Superman. Instead...it was aimed at Superman's son! Superman's son was tied to another post 100 meters away from Ms. Lois Lane.

"They say you are faster than a speeding bullet..." he mocked Superman with a self-satisfied smile.

Superman was frozen. He stared at Luthor with almost equal hatred. He normally had good control over his emotions. But Luthor and the past 3 years had really brought out the worst in him. He wanted to kill Luthor, and kill him now! But he was frozen. Unable to act. He had all his powers, there was no Kryptonite nearby exept in Luthor's gun, but it was far enough away from him not to affect him. Superman was frozen because he really wasn't sure what he was going to do if Luthor squeezed both triggers at the same time. He could have just vaporized Luthor with heat vision or blew him away with his breath. But Luthor had erected an advanced forcefield in between them that extended for 45 meters on each side of him. The only way he could save either Lois or his son was...

Supermans thoughts were suddenly interrupted by another mocking laugh from Lex Luthor.

"Ha, ha and ha! You may be faster than a speeding bullet Superman, but are you faster than...200 bullets, travelling in opposite directions!"

"Luthor, you bastard, if you even..." Superman started to say.

And then Luthor just said "Let's find out, shall we..." and with that Luthor squeezed both triggers. . .

**3 years ago. . . **

**In an uncharted island, somewhere in the Atlantic. . .  
**

"Lex...Lex..."

"What!"

"We've eaten all our coconuts...what are we gonna eat now? I'm hungry!"

"I don't know!"

"But I'm so hungry!" moaned Kitty.

"Shut up! I'm trying to think! I'm trying to figure a way outta this island!"

"Fine! But you need to eat too!"

'Damn she's right!' Lex thought. 'I can't use my super powerful brain if I'm hungry and starving.'

"Allright, getting food will be our priority. The most obvious thing is to try and catch fish. So, I'll build a simple fishing rod, and you try to catch fish, while I try to figure our way out of this freaking island.", Lex said.

"Ok Lex, you got a deal baby."

"Hey Lex...umm, I have a question..."

"what now!"

"Remember I dumped those other crystals down the sea..."

"Don't remind me! I just might be tempted to eat you for lunch!" Lex yelled, still furious at that moment of total stupidity.

"But Lex! Why didn't they grow into islands like the one you shot at the ocean!"

"Quite simple Kitty, they need a catalyst to grow. In this case they need a small charge of electric current to start the growing process..." Lex was glad she was finally asking non-imbecile questions.

"Aha!" Lex yelled...

"What Lex?" asked Kitty.

"I have a plan!" Lex smiled.

**Meanwhile back in Metropolis City . . .**

Clark Kent had finally found himself a new apartment. It was near the Daily Planet too, which was quite convenient. It's just a simple place, small but cozy, on the 38th floor of the building. Which was also yet another convenience...the higher the better...for jumping out the window to fly.

As soon as Jimmy left the place (helping Clark move in), unpacking was a cinch. Using super speed, Clark unpacked and arranged all his stuff in less than 1 minute. After that, he lay down on his bed to test how comfortable it was. He has never found a bed that was just perfect for him. He thought about going to the Fortress of Solitude and growing a Kryptonian bed out of the crystals and bringing it to his place. The only problem is Jimmy will always be visiting and he'll be sure to notice. Thinking about his hideaway in the arctic, reminded him of some unfinished business that needed urgent taking care of.

Lex stole his crystals, and Lex and Kitty are missing. Police helicopters had searched the area where the Kryptonite island used to be and found nothing.

There was really only one way to find the crystals...he had to get the original green crystal that was sent with him when he was a baby, and use that to detect the other crystals. 'And where the crystals are, is where Luthor is...', he thought.

He's been thinking a lot about Luthor too. Specially back at the hospital. In his deep healing sleep, his mind was still active. Dreams, thoughts, visions of his father, Jor-El. He thought about Luthor a lot during that time and what to do with him. How easy it would be to kill Luthor...just one flash of heat vision, one punch, one puff of his super breath. But that's not his way. 'If I do that, I'd be tempted to do it again...', Clark thought, 'Once I use my powers to directly kill someone...I'll end up doing it again and again, and someday I might abuse it so much, I'd end up killing people just because they anger me.'

'But Luthor is different...he's evil beyond evil,' Clarks less merciful side thought, 'He doesn't care if he kills millions or billions so long as he gets rich and powerful!'

"Damn you Luthor!", Clark was speaking his thoughts out loud now. "If it wasn't for me, Luthor would have already killed billions of people! There must be a better way than simply putting him in jail, where he always escapes!" Clark was mad now.

"But I can't just kill him...I must find another way!" he said to himself. And after that, he took off his human clothes and flew off the window.

**Back in the Uncharted Island...**

"So what's the big plan Lex?" Kitty asked.

"Hahaha! This is one of the more brilliant plans I've thought of!"

"C'mon, what is it!"

"Simple...my GPS watch still works."

"Oh that's great Lex!"

"That's just part of it. Using my GPS watch, I will find the coordinates of this island!" Lex bristled with newfound confidence.

"And then?"

"And then tear off a piece of your clothes..."

"What!"

"Write the coordinates down...and a short note promising reward, tie a hundred dollar bill around the note, stuff it in one of those coconuts we opened, tie the coconut halves back together, and throw it in the ocean! Hahaha!", Lex laughed, extremely pleased with himself.

"That's it!"

"Yes!"

"That's it! A message in a coconut! That's the stupidest plan I have ever heard of!"

"Well, do you have anything better!"

"No..."

"Ha!"

"Fine...I'll go get the coconut shell..." Kitty said.

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Hi All! Thanks for reading my story! Please Review:)

-assunta


	2. Chapter 2

**Kent Farm, Kansas...**

Superman flies into the Kent barn and grabs the green Kryptonian crystal from where he last hid it. He had encased it in a lead box just in case someone would build a detector device to find the crystal through whatever radiation it might emit. After getting the crystal, he dons some of his old clothes he'd left in the farm.

He walks to the front door of the house...Mrs. Kent immediately saw him and ran towards him to hug him tight. Clark hugged his mother back just as tight.

"Oh Clark! I'm so happy you're alright! I was really worried at first! But when I heard on the news the doctors' needles couldn't pierce your skin, I knew you would be just fine!"

"I love you ma!" Clark said.

"I love you too Clark."

"Mom, I need some advice...can we sit down?"

"Oh what is it Clark? It's about Lois isn't it?"

"Well umm..."

Mrs. Kent puts some cornbread and some fresh squeezed orange juice on the table. "Have a seat, Clark! Tell me all about it!"

Clark and Mrs. Kent took their seats. Mrs. Kent offered her son some cornbread which he happily ate.

"Well Mom, it's not really about Lois...well ok, it's about her too, but I'm more concerned about something else right now." Clark said, in between bites of the hot and delicious homemade cornbread.

Mrs. Kent was puzzled, she thought that as soon as Clark returned to Metropolis City and found out about Lois, that he would eventually fly back here to ask her advice what to do.

"It's Luthor Mom. He's missing somewhere in the Atlantic, and he stole my Kryptonian crystals! The police, the coastguard, and the US Navy have not been able to locate him!"

"Oh dear...yes, yes, this certainly is more urgent than figuring out what to do about Lois."

"That's right Mom, Luthor is insane, he's a danger to everyone! He's a danger to me! I just know he won't stop trying to kill me!" Clark said, his fists clenching.

"Then you must find him Clark! You must find him and put a stop to him!"

"What should I do with him Mom? If I have him put in jail, he'll find some way to escape or get parolled again!"

"You must do whatever it takes Clark. I trust you, I know you will do the right thing Clark."

"Should I...I...just kill him off?" Clark hoped his mother would be able to give him some more insight on the morality of that question.

"You will find the best way to deal with him, and make sure he never harms anyone again Clark. I just know you will find the right thing to do with him." Mrs. Kent said, confident that her adopted son would find the best way to deal with that mad criminal Luthor.

"Thanks for having faith in me Mom." Clark reached across the table to hold his mother's hand, and smiled.

"I'm sure your father...I'm sure both your fathers would be looking out for you Clark, from above."

"I hope so Mom, I can sure use their wisdom and guidance..."

**Back at the Uncharted Island...**

Lex throws the tied coconut halves into the ocean, as far as he could throw. In it was a $100 bill tied to a note which simply read: "Very rich man stranded on island. Big reward for rescue. See coordinates of island below."

After throwing the coconut to sea, Lex went on to make a simple fishing rod out of a branch, and some string (once again taken from Kitty's clothes), and a hook (from Kitty's hairpins), and some bait. He gave the fishing rod to Kitty and ordered her to catch them some food.

Meanwhile he worked on a fallback plan should the coconut thing not work. He could simply have used the radio in the chopper to call for help, that still worked even without gasoline since it was running off the batteries. But any transmission was sure to be intercepted by the authorities who would promptly take him to jail once more. And Lex was never, ever, ever going back to jail ever again. He had less value there than a pack of cigarettes, but as a free man, he had the potential to rule the world. If it only wasn't for that meddling Superman. Superman! 'That asshole in blue tights had to return just as I was about to finally realize my dream of owning an entire new continent of beachfront real estate!', Lex thought angrily.

"No matter what it takes, I WILL KILL YOU SUPERMAN! THIS I VOW! DAMN YOU SUPERMAN!" Lex yelled to the sky. Lex was extremely obsessed with beachfront property. He doesn't care how many people he has to kill just to own a very large chunk of exclusive beach front property. His father taught him about the value of land. And the best kind of land is the one that's right by the beach. Or even better an entire continent surrounded by thousands of miles of shoreline. 'Like the one Superman just threw into outer freaking space!' Lex's thoughts filled him with such rage that he felt like his blood was going to boil off into vapor. "Arrrrrrrrrggggggghhhh!" Lex punched the sand. A useless gesture, not as satisfying as punching a Kryptonite-weakened Superman in the gut. Lex just imagined it was Superman he was punching. Once again vowing to himself to exact horrible revenge on Superman once he got off this freaking island.

"Are you ok Lex honey?" Kitty asked from about 50 meters away.

"Shut up! Don't bother me!"

"Ok, whatever you say Lex," Kitty said, and went back to fishing for food.

"I WILL KILL YOU SUPERMAN! DO YOU HEAR ME!", Luthor yelled to the sky once more. Not caring if Superman actually heard him. He still had some Kryptonite left in the chopper after all, so if Superman did hear him...

**Meanwhile in the skies above the Atlantic...**

A blur of red, yellow and blue was moving at fantastic speeds, in a slowly expanding spiral pattern.

Superman had flown directly to the former site of Luthor's Kryptonian crystal island and started a spiral search pattern, while holding the green crystal in front of him.

"I'm going to find you Luthor!" he said to the sea.

Unfortunately for Superman, Luthor's location was just on the borderline of the effective range of his Super Hearing. If he concentrated and focused his super hearing, he might have heard it. But Superman was preoccupied, and Navy ships nearby helping with the search were generating a lot of background noise.

Suddenly, Superman's green crystal suddenly glowed bright...

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Hi All! Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think of my story! R&R!

-assunta


	3. Chapter 3

Superman noticed he was still hovering above the ocean. There was no land beneath him. 'Luthor and Kitty drowned!' he wondered.

He didn't really believe it. But the green crystal doesn't lie. So the crystals must be beneath him even if Luthor wasn't.

Superman dived to the ocean. Faster than any submarine or sea animal could, he reached the ocean bottom in under a minute, traveling so fast, the water he passed through got heated to almost boiling temperature. He hovered just about one hundred meters off the ocean bottom. Green crystal still held out in front of him. In a few seconds the green crystal's glow blinked on and off slowly. Suddenly all around him, he noticed 6 small points of white light also began to blink on and off, in tune with the green crystal.

Using his super vision, he zoomed in on the sources of the lights and saw that they were indeed the crystals that Luthor stole. But there was no sign of Luthor or Kitty. He assumed they must have accidentally dropped it while fleeing the kryptonite island.

Superman was happy to have found his stolen crystals, but was disappointed that Luthor was still missing. If he's missing, he's probably up to something. And that something was probably dangerous to millions of innocent people, and himself.

Superman quickly gathered the crystals into a small bag which he had brought with him, and flew back to the surface. He landed on the top deck of the lead navy ship helping with the search.

"Superman!", yelled one surprised sailor who was nearby him.

"I'd like to speak to the admiral please," Superman requested.

"Yes sir Superman, I'll let him know you're here!" quipped the sailor, glad to be of service to his favorite hero.

A few minutes later, the man in charge of the search fleet, Admiral Caesar Croneaus, stepped into the deck. "Superman! You wanted to speak to me?" he asked.

"Yes sir, Admiral Croneaus. I've found the crystals..." Superman started to say.

"That's great news!" exclaimed the admiral.

"Unfortunately Luthor is still missing."

"Leave that to us...we're coordinating our efforts with the NSA. They are analyzing sattelite images of this area taken the day the island appeared. Due to some radiation inteferrence from the island, they have to wade through a lot of useless images, but eventually they should be able to figure out where Luthor's chopper went."

"That's good to hear admiral. I'm going to secure these crystals, then come back here to continue the search. Thanks for all your help!"

"No Superman, thank you! For coming back to Earth. The world needs you now more than you know. You know, many people thought you'ld never be back, but not me, I knew you'ld be back, and I'm glad you're here now."

"I..." Superman started to say, but was quickly interrupted by the admiral.

"The difference between us Superman is that I do my job because it's my duty, its my responsibility to my country, to my superiors giving the orders, it's also the way I earn a living. But you...you just do it because you care about us. You don't expect anything in return. It's not your duty to help us...a man like you can literally do anything he wants, but you spend your time helping people. I really appreciate that."

Superman was glad to be appreciated. He didn't know what to say except "Thanks Admiral" and smile. He was about to fly off, when the Admiral called out again and said "Ignore that pulitzer winning article Ms. Lane wrote. Thats a load of bullshit. If you ask me, she was just acting like any female who was trying to get over a man she loved, but couldn't, and just wrote that crap to distract herself from her feelings."

Superman nodded. "Thanks for the insight Admiral, I really appreciate it," and with that he flew off into the sky.

Superman wanted to hide his crystals where he believed Luthor can never get his hands at them. He didn't want to return them to the Fortress of Solitude until he finished dealing with Luthor. He needed something secure. A place he believed Luthor would never be able to get to. So, he flew to Moon.

Superman landed in the Sea of Tranquility. The stars and stripes stood there, next to the original Lunar Lander. He gazed with respect at the flag, planted there during a more idealistic era, when the nation was under the helm of an idealistic and capable leader. He found it sad that Earth has lost the capability to put human beings on the moon, and that it will take many years, perhaps a decade or more for them to be able to do so again. He admired the courage of the men who first flew up here, on nothing more than a high tech tin can, guided by vaccum tube electronics and computers whose power cannot even compare to that of today's bargain priced laptops. He wondered if he would have had the courage to do as they did, if he did not have his powers. The courage to essentially strap yourself on a giant missile filled with highly explosive fuel, and hope that everything goes right, hope that all the vehicles' millions of parts do what they are supposed to do. 'This is the reason my father sent me here,' he thought. 'Father said humans have the capacity for greatness, even with all their faults. . .all they need is guidance,' Superman paused, then continued 'and I Kal-El, am to be that guide...'

He believed that once humans overcame their flaws, that they had the potential to surpass all that Krypton had achieved. His father gave him the sum total knowledge of Krypton, and all it had gathered from the other alien civilizations they made contact with...all that information, contained in one small green crystal, which he carried with him right now. Someday...when Earth is ready, I will give them this information. It was after all his father's intent. It seems his father hoped that someday. . .Earth will become a second Krypton, or will continue Krypton's civilization, continue its hopes and dreams, and achieve all that Krypton had yet to achieve, with the guidance of his only son. Superman looked up at the Earthrise, the crescent of Earth gleaming blue and white, and shook his head, remembered all the stuff he saw in the news and thought "It's gonna take a while..."

He looked eastward. He knew that a few hundred meters away were the marks on the moondust left by his own Kryptonian spacecraft. He had completed the final assembly--if you can even call growing something "assembly"--of his Kryptonian spacecraft on the moon, before he left for the ruins of Krypton. He remembered he was so hopeful then. That me might find something. He wasn't sure what he was looking for actually. Maybe survivors of Krypton, living in a space station, or something. Perhaps he just wanted to find out for himself, whether he was or wasn't the last Kryptonian left alive. But he found nothing but the ruins of his planet--now nothing more than an asteroid belt orbiting a decaying star. He still held out hope that there were some lost colonies or survivors of Krypton out there. That he wasn't the only one left, that he wasn't alone. Someday when Earth needs him less, when he'd finally figured out what to do with Lois Lane, maybe he'll grow another Kryptonian spacecraft and find out. Maybe they could all explore space as a family...him, Lois, and their son. Superman smiled at that thought. The spacecraft he grew was a highly experimental design by his father--essentially a "beta version" in today's terminology. It's several orders of magnitude faster than the spacecraft that brought him to Earth. His father could have put him in such a spacecraft, but since he was just a baby and not yet fully developed, for safety's sake, his father put him in a slower but more technologically stable spacecraft. With the experimental spacecraft, he can cover vast distances in the blink of an eye, and maybe if he searched hard enough he will find what he's looking for.

Superman snapped himself out of his wishful thinking. There were more urgent matters to attend to. He headed to the Lunar Lander.

Superman was careful not disturb Niel Armstrong's historic footprints. Floating himself instead of walking the final few meters. Superman then stashed his crystals inside a compartment in the Lunar Lander. That's as secure as it could possibly get. Since Earth currently has no spacecraft capable of putting humans on the moon, it'll be years before any human will set foot here again. But he kept the green crystal with him.

Back in the Atlantic Ocean...

A sailor controlling a UAV to search for any signs of a helicopter wreckage saw something funny, it was a coconut, that seemed to have been split in half, and tied back together, floating near his ship. He brought his UAV around, and used its camera to zoom in on the curious coconut...

There was something inside...he froze the feed from the UAV, and magnified the view. Through the split in the coconut shells, he could see something inside...

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Hi All! I won't be able to upload the next update till next week. Work has been really busy, way too much overtime, and I really need a break. So I won't be doing any writing this weekend. Please read and review!

-assunta 


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